Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch is listed on Google Business as a “youth social services organization.” The purpose of the organization is to provide programming and services for children “in a Christ-centered atmosphere” at no cost. Parents can choose to enroll their children in the Boys Ranch programs. The premises has 28 houses which serve as the children’s living spaces and puts a structured schedule in place that each resident follows.
The schedule is composed the way a typical day in the life of a secondary school student who is involved in a club or a sport would be. It begins “before 8 a.m.” with breakfast and preparing for the day then on to a normal school schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. Once they have finished school, the children will then have about two hours to participate in a club or activity until dinner time rolls around at 5:30 p.m. After completing dinner, the children will help clean up and then have an hour of free time/getting ready for bed until it is lights out at 8:30 p.m. They’re summer program schedule is exactly the same.
Programs are tailored to fit each individual child. According to their website, Boys Ranch can accommodate multiple siblings and encourages families to stay together with nights dedicated to spending time with siblings. The houses are split by gender but siblings of the same sex have the possibility of being placed in the same house.
Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch has been in business for over 80 years. The organization is completely funded through donations from supporters. No state or federal funds are taken by the group. Their mission is to strengthen families by helping form impressionable young people into functioning adults. Boys Ranch is located northwest of the city of Amarillo and is designated by the census and listed as an unincorporated community. The headquarters are located at 600 SW 11th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79101 in downtown Amarillo.
The program takes on children between the ages of five and 18. The campus is set up in the fashion of a small town and near the entrance of the ranch is Boot Hill Cemetery that was part of the now ghost town of Tascosa, TX. This small town was incorporated into what is now Boys Ranch, but the cemetery remains. It is located near the Canadian River off Highway 385.
Tascosa, TX was originally named Atascosa, which means ‘boggy’, due to the wet nature of the land surrounding where the Canadian River met the local creek. In the late 1870s, the town was the ending point of the Tascosa-Dodge City Cattle Trail and ranches were formed throughout the town. The original settlers, shepherds and freighters from the state of New Mexico, were scared off by this development and ended up going back to their home state. The town became the county seat in 1880 and a courthouse made of stone was built as well as multiple saloons and dancehalls and the town’s first criminal was shot, killed, and buried in Boot Hill Cemetery.
In 1915, Vega was awarded the position of county seats and surrounding towns attracted residents of both Old and New Tascosa. The final resident of the town finally left in 1939 when Boys Ranch was opened.
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Map from Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch to Wilson Haag:
Map from Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch to Will Rogers Range Riders: